Chapter 8 "Ragthar The Chieftain"

The ground beneath them trembles as the chants harmonize with Ragthar's prayer. An altar of stone rose from the ground.

Ioki couldn't help but step back while he watched all of this happening, without realizing he was already at the edge of the circle the Goblins made.

A goblin put its hands on Ioki's back; Ioki turned around and saw it smile as it pointed to Ragthar as if telling Ioki, "Don't be afraid."

Ioki returned the smile and clenched his fist; his mixture of emotions raced in his heart as it beat faster when he saw Ragthar finally stop praying and extend his hand.

"Do you want me to shake your hand, Mr. Ragthar?" Ioki asked.

"Ioki... Duel... Blessings," Ragthar replied.

Ioki slowly approached Ragthar as he made his way to the stone altar. Ragthar asked him to stop there as he approached; the two shook hands in front of the stone altar.

A ray of light appeared from Heaven, lighting the altar, blessing it; slowly, the stone cracked as it revealed golden lights inside the stone.

Ragthar's grip tightened, and Ioki couldn't help but stare at Ragthar's.

"Ioki... Move... First," Ragthar said as he let go of Ioki's hand.

A Goblin servant approached Ragthar as it kneeled and put its hands out; Ragthar then proceeded to take the ceremonial staff from it before patting its head and saying something with a smile.

Ioki feels something in his heart that keeps reminding him of how Ragthar acts like a doting parent.

"I'll accept your offer then, Mr. Ragthar!" Ioki raised his fist.

The chants started to be wilder than ever; the Goblins sang and hummed the name of their Chieftain with his challenger.

The titles bonus for fighting quantities of enemies exceeding 20 could be felt. Ioki's body felt lighter than ever; he ran toward Ragthar with his fists raised.

A 1-2 combo of jab-straight was launched on Ragthar's abdomen, Ioki felt as if he just punched a boulder.

The punch dealt damage, although Ioki would be grateful if Critical Hits were made.

Ragthar returned Ioki's greeting with a lariat of his right arm; Ioki swiftly dodged it by ducking. Suddenly a huge gust of wind could be felt upon Ioki's body; soon, Ioki found himself knocked to the edge of the ring with a slap from Ragthar's left palm.

The Goblin cheered for their Chieftain ecstatically.

Ioki could feel the slap on his right arm, leaving a burning mark that shocked his whole body. Perhaps if it's not for the stats bonus, his bones would be broken by now...

Ioki tried to stand before he felt another hand helping him; it was the hand of a Goblin. It smiled at Ioki as it wanted to help him get up.

"Mr. Ragthar, whether I win or not, just letting you know that I won't regret anything ever fighting a great leader like you," Ioki said proudly.

"Honor... Same... Ioki," Ragthar slapped his chest.

As if slapping a war drum, the crowd went louder after hearing the loud sound made by their Chieftain's chest.

Ioki then took the sword of the nearby Goblin, "Excuse me, I'll borrow this!"

Without having the chance to say anything, the Goblin found itself with no weapon in its arm, but he still continued to cheer and chants as if nothing happened.

With a broad smile on his face, Ragthar taunted Ioki. Strangely, the smile on his face differs from the smile on The Warden's face...

The sinister smile on The Warden's face was still fresh in Ioki's mind. Remembering that smile only made him feel uneasy... but if Ioki looked at Ragthar's smile, something felt different, something that he couldn't quite wrap his head on.

His expression lightened as he rushed toward the towering Chieftain before him, his body relaxed. This is a fight between two men; none were at fault... They simply had different purposes; even if one was to be sent to the afterlife, none would resent the other.

The first slash from the sword was made; it only sliced a tiny part of Ragthar's massive arm. Green blood was shed, and soon, a second slice followed.

Ragthar caught the blade while lowering his head, smiling toward Ioki.

"Although I love the way you smile, it doesn't mean you can keep smiling!" Ioki shouted.

Ioki delivered a cross right to Ragthar's cheek while he was still lowering his head; Ragthar was visibly shaken by Ioki's cross.

Ragthar tried to swing Ioki by the blade, but Ioki stored the blade in his inventory. This made Ioki thrown by a few meters from Ragthar because of the momentum from his swing.

Ioki landed with his feet, but before he could take another action, Ragthar charged at him. With a front kick, Ragthar made his first attack.

Dodging the front kick by rolling, using the momentum, Ragthar stomped the ground. Sending shockwaves and crushing the grounds near them. Ioki got caught by the shockwave, lost his balance.

*BAM*

His massive fist made its way to Ioki's abdomen, and with a force equally as strong as a truck, it sent Ioki flying into the air.

The crowd went wild upon seeing Ioki launched into the sky.

Ioki could feel his insides being shocked; some of his ribs were broken, and almost half of his HP was gone while he spurted blood from his mouth.

With adrenaline running on both of these men, they laughed it off. While Ragthar's laugh was loud, Ioki's laugh slowly resembled someone's descent to insanity.

He positioned his body downward as he fell down, piercing through the air.

"Thanks for giving me this opportunity!" Ioki shouted through the air while his mouth was filled with air.

As he approached the ground where Ragthar stood, he saw Ragthar welcoming him with a huge fist.

In the span of a few seconds when Ioki's life and death could be decided. He opened his inventory and took the sword from before. Watching this unfold, Ragthar was dumbfounded.

There was nothing Ragthar could do besides continue to swing his fist at Ioki, that approached him with a faster velocity after he pulled out his sword.

As the sword and fist clashed, Ioki used the moment he was stopped in the air after their attacks met. The sword bent a little while it made a slight wound on Ragthar's fist.

Ioki then rolled forward mid-air using the sword as his balance point, pulling the sword out of Ragthar's fist and then swinging the sword toward Ragthar's head.

Without having the time to react, Ragthar tried to step back.

Regretfully... Knowing if things would happen the way they happened, then he shouldn't have taken the steps backward.

*SLASH*

*Critical Hit*

The sword made its way to Ragthar's left eye, and green blood was spurting out of the socket...

A horrid sight to behold as the blood painted the sacred ground and the altar green.

"RAAAARGHHHH!" Ragthar screamed, his heavy voice pierced through the Heaven.

The battalion didn't stop chanting, although some could be seen shaken and shed tears...

Wasting no chance, Ioki followed up with another stab right to Ragthar's abdomen as he tried to regain his balance because one of his vital senses was gone.

The sword made its way through the hard abdomen of Ragthar; retaliating out of anger, Ragthar swung his fists wildly in the air. A fist landed on Ioki's side, sending him to the edge of the ring once again.

As Ragthar tried to stand straight, he got brought to his knees because of the damage inflicted on him.

Although his body was still shaking from the damage of earlier wild swing, Ioki rushed again.

With his fists raised again, he assumed the usual stance.

As he approached the kneeling Ragthar, he could see him pull the sword out of his abdomen.

As the curtain fell on this sacred duel, everyone held their breath. No more new chats could be seen on the window chat, and the volume of the chant was gradually getting lower.

As if the forest itself honored the sacred duel, no sounds were made from nature... The birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing, the leaves stopped falling...

Only the voice of the battalion chants could be heard magically following the rhythm of the duel participants heart beats.

The sacred rhythm was made with the duelists as the instrument. Even the Gods in Heaven were sitting on the edge of their seats.

As Ragthar reached his limit, his swings were slowly coming to a halt. With blood dripping from his face, his tense expression slowly turned relaxed.

A smile appeared on his face; he stared at Ioki one last time before readying the sword he just took from his stomach with his right arm.

A big swing was made, honoring the last attack by Ragthar. He stood there while raising his arms.

The sword's voice could be heard as it cut through the wind; if Ragthar was blessed by the God of Wind, then a wave made of air would be coming out of his sword.

Alas, Ragthar was blessed by Terra... The Goddess of Earth.

Ioki honored his opponent's last strike. He stood there while raising his fist, readying his guard.

*SLASH*

*Critical Hit!*

A sound of bones cracking and flesh sliced was heard through the crowds.

Ioki's left arm was cut halfway; if Ragthar stroked it with a bigger sword or his Ceremonial Staff, he would be an arm less.

Ragthar finally put a smile on his bloodied face; he let go of his sword and opened his arms wide.

"Good fight Ioki!" Ragthar finished his sentence without stuttering

Ioki loaded his right arm with a fiery punch as he assumed his stance.

Concluding the duel, Ioki throws a right hook into Ragthar's neck.

*BAM*

*Critical Hit!*

The loud voice effect from the critical hit concluded the sacred duel.

As the giant Chieftain's body slowly dropped to the ground, the chants were slowly turning into the voices of cries and screams of the Goblin Battalion.

The stone altar broke down as the golden light shone illustriously, and a ray of light connected the ground and the Heaven as it radiated.

"SPECIAL QUEST SUCCEED!

You've defeated Ragthar in the sacred duel; now, his tribe will be scattered as his name echoes on the wind.

Clear Grade: A+

Rewards: Diamond Chest, Ragthar's chest, + 10000 EXP, + 150 Golds, Honor +75, Your name will be spread amongst the Goblins from now on."

The Goblins cried as Ragthar's body slowly started to disintegrate.

They were on guard, readying their weapon, as they saw Ioki standing there. Ioki looked at them and stepped back from Ragthar's body.

He gave them a sign to give their final respects to their fallen Chieftain.